The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 280 Stealing Peaches
Ding Lin made no attempt to hide his actions, and Yin Huan naturally sensed it. However, when Yin Huan turned to look at him, Ding Lin had already looked away.

Their eyes met, but did not meet.

The white clouds drifted lazily, neither fast nor slow, and an hour later, they landed in front of the Peach Garden.

A thousand people form a forest.

Even though they each had their own thoughts, the mere sight of these thousand people standing there in neat rows still exuded a chilling aura.

After a few breaths.

From the Peach Garden, a celestial official in a green robe emerged, looking dejected and seemingly absent-minded, followed closely by two silver-armored junior officers.

Upon seeing Ding Lin, the celestial official's dazed expression faded somewhat. He first gave a bitter smile, then revealed a sense of relief. The unresolved situation was the most tormenting.

"Greetings, General," the celestial official bowed, his official seal swaying at the hem of his blue robe, indicating he was a sixth-rank official. A flash of light appeared in his palm as he took out a thin book, bent over, and presented it to Ding Lin with both hands. "General, this is all the accounts of the Peach Garden. I am a guilty official, and I have been waiting here in confinement, just for your arrival."

Ding Lin paused for a moment, then reached out and took the book. At first glance, although the book looked extremely thin, the paper inside seemed endless, making it a treasure of space.

"Now that the handover is complete, come with us to Beiju Luzhou to take up your posts." The two heavenly generals behind this celestial official had been waiting for a long time and were getting impatient.

The celestial general on the left waved his hand, and the celestial official dared not resist. Ding Lin then saw a decree flash in the void in front of him, and his aura plummeted. In an instant, he fell out of the celestial realm and was left only at the level of the primordial spirit.

Then, the celestial general on the right pointed his finger, and the light and shadow shifted. The official robes and seals on the celestial official's body were also taken away. The official robes changed from pure blue to grayish-blue, and the seal at the waist also shrank a lot, almost turning into half a seal. Fortunately, it was maintained at the last moment, and it could still be considered a complete official body.

"Let's go, Northern Continent of Luzhou, Little Cold Mountain God, come with us to your post." The heavenly general on the right continued, and another beam of light shot out. Although it was said to be 'coming with us,' the behavior was more like escorting someone. The only difference was the chain. This official had already been stripped of his immortal status and could only go with them against his will.

"Those below the Golden Immortal level are forbidden from cultivating, banished to the mortal realm, and placed in remote and desolate places, either as mountain gods or local deities, never to return to heaven..."

Ding Lin watched in disbelief, a chill creeping into his heart. This scene was both a handover and a show of force. Unexpectedly, he recalled Tianpeng's words from the previous night: this must be the banished immortal.

The thousands of armored soldiers also fell silent.

The heavenly rules are strict; even a thousand people cannot compare to those two heavenly generals who act on imperial orders.

I held back for a while.

"Xin Jia, you will come with me into the garden later," Ding Lin said, breaking the silence. He then looked at Yin Huan and instructed, "Commander Yin Huan, this group of soldiers were all transferred from your command. You are most familiar with them, so I will entrust them to you. Set up the outer defenses and make sure there are no mistakes!"

"This subordinate obeys!" Yin Huan's eyes flickered. He guessed that Ding Lin felt he couldn't control his soldiers, so he simply isolated him outside the garden. This further proved that Ding Lin must have some ulterior motives. However, he didn't need to do anything on this trip. He just needed to sit and watch, and when the time came, Ding Lin would be defeated. He was happy that they could both be at peace, so he readily agreed.

Ding Lin's gaze lingered on Yin Huan for a while, then suddenly flicked his sleeve, opening a corner of the Peach Garden's protective barrier—

He took the booklet and thus naturally gained some authority over the Peach Garden.

Ding Lin went in first, followed closely by Xin Jia and his hundred heavenly soldiers.

Ding Lin came here on the orders of the Tianpeng Army. Therefore, although he was in fact the manager of the Peach Garden, his relationship was still with the Tianhe Navy. The same was true for the soldiers, who were still listed in the Navy's register.

It was more like a temporary transfer than a change of duties, so he didn't need to go to the Immortal Selection Hall. After the handover, he could directly take over the Peach Garden.

Perhaps that's another way to understand it.

Because the monkeys were too rampant and unruly during this period, the Peach Garden was temporarily placed under military control.

Once the entire celestial army had entered the Peach Garden.

Ding Lin waved his hand again, and the restriction closed naturally, blocking the probing gaze of the silver ring outside.

"The immortal peaches in the garden are divided into small fruits that are three thousand years old, medium fruits that are six thousand years old, and large fruits that are nine thousand years old. Xin Jia, you will set up guards in various places along the boundaries of the orchard, day and night without rest," Ding Lin ordered.

"This subordinate obeys!" Xin Jia replied.

"After you've made the arrangements, come to the cold pool in the center of the peach grove to see me," Ding Lin added.

"Yes, sir!" Xin Jia bowed to Ding Lin and then began to assign soldiers.

After delegating power and making simple arrangements, Ding Lin vanished from the spot in a flash.

When it reappears.

Ding Lin stood by the cold pool, looking down at the water. The pool remained as cold and clear as ever.

This place held a long period of his life before his ascension to heaven.

A strange emotion suddenly welled up inside me.

Ding Lin looked around again. The jade house where the Seven Fairies had settled was nowhere to be seen, but the small pavilion where he had originally lived was still there.

A gaze was directed towards them from the pavilion.

Ding Lin noticed that a minor official with an unfamiliar aura was getting up in the pavilion. He was wearing a gray-blue official robe, and his aura had just entered the third step of the primordial spirit realm. He must be someone with connections who had taken his place.

Returning to the same place, everything had changed.

"Meet the general!"

The local earth god emerged from the pavilion and approached. Sensing Ding Lin's aura, he instinctively felt it was much weaker than that of his elders, which puzzled him. However, Ding Lin's golden armor and the jade seal at his waist indicated a proper fifth-rank status. He couldn't immediately place Ding Lin at the Celestial Immortal level and, unable to see through it, simply gave up and respectfully bowed.

"Tell me, where is the fairy who originally lived here?" Ding Lin asked.

"You mean, the seventh granddaughter?" asked the Earth God of Cold Pool.

Ding Lin was somewhat surprised that the local deity knew the identities of the Seven Fairies. He nodded.

"General, you may not know this, but my seventh granddaughter returned to Yaochi several years ago."

The local earth god of the cold pool lowered his head slightly to show respect, but suddenly his eyes flashed and he realized something.

He was replacing Ding Lin, so naturally he wouldn't be completely unaware of his predecessor. He just hadn't realized it at first, but when Ding Lin asked about the Seven Fairies, he suddenly remembered.

No wonder he wore golden armor, yet his aura was nothing like that of a Golden Immortal, appearing rather weak; it turned out he wasn't a Golden Immortal to begin with. But he was indeed quite unlucky; he had finally become a Celestial Immortal, and only a few years later, he was assigned this task.

The landowner, lost in thought, naturally assumed that Ding Lin's inquiry about the Seven Fairies' whereabouts was an attempt to find a backer and a way out.

"Go ahead."

Ding Lin waved his hand, dismissing the local deity of the cold pool. His intelligence network in the Heavenly Court wasn't particularly extensive. Although he'd heard about it from Tianpeng last night, obtaining further information from the Seven Fairies would undoubtedly be more reliable, providing corroborating evidence. However, now that the Seven Fairies had returned to Yaochi, this plan had to be abandoned.

In that case, Ding Lin looked up and behind him. At the end of the misty pool, he could vaguely see a hazy green expanse, a place he had never set foot in before—the nine-thousand-year-old peach forest.

Ding Lin stepped through the mist and went inside.

The forest was quiet, without a sound. It seemed that apart from the three thousand six hundred peach trees, there were no other living beings. However, Ding Lin sensed that there were many auras all around, faint and indistinct, no less than a hundred, all trying their best to hide themselves and never show themselves.

Ding Lin looked in one direction and used his spiritual sense to see through the soil. In the immortal soil, a small space had been opened up. A land cultivator at the third step of the Nascent Soul stage and three spirit farmers who had just entered the Nascent Soul stage were hiding inside, trying their best to conceal their aura.

Do not see, do not hear, do not feel.

This self-deceptive approach, while seemingly harmless, at least minimizes the responsibility once the peaches become scarce.

Ding Lin then extended his spiritual senses, and all the spiritual farmers in the entire garden were in the same state.

Even ordinary people have their own wisdom for survival.

Keep going.

The wind blew through the peach grove, and the narrow leaves rustled against each other.

Ding Lin looked up at the peach trees, one by one. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, making it a little dazzling. Compared to when he looked at the trees from afar many years ago, it seemed that there were far fewer peaches on the trees.

Large fruits are almost nowhere to be found; what remains are mostly medium and small fruits, or simply unripe green fruits.

His steps suddenly stopped.

In the middle of the peach orchard, slightly below the tips of the branches, a fruit as big as a child's head came into view. Its red skin was covered with fine fuzz, and its pinkish color was exceptionally pleasing. Just looking at it made one's mouth water. Among all the peaches in the orchard, how could there be such a hidden gem?
Ding Lin's eyes flickered, and in the depths of his mind, he seemed to sense that something was amiss.

Sure enough, the next moment—

"Boom!"

The fruit suddenly swayed from side to side twice, with exaggerated arcs, as supple as a sea fish. What was even stranger was that the fruit did not fall down despite the swaying. Then, the two leaves at the top of the fruit gently unfolded and stretched out, just like a person who had just woken up stretching.

Not like.

that is!

"Oh!"

The next moment, the fruit fell to the ground and exploded into a cloud of white smoke.

A small, thin monkey with golden fur appeared in the smoke.

The stone monkey, still half-asleep, had a peach in its mouth. It had only nibbled on the large, flat peach at the tip of its tail. With its back to Ding Lin, it casually caught the peach with its left paw, ignoring the fuzz on the skin, brought it to its mouth, and took another big bite, making the juice spill out.

"Didn't I tell you? You didn't see anything. If you want to hold me accountable later, just come to me, Old Sun..." The stone monkey turned around while munching on a peach, but his voice stopped abruptly the moment he saw Ding Lin.

"Greetings, Great Sage!" Ding Lin bowed respectfully, as if he hadn't even seen the peach in the stone monkey's hand.

The stone monkey recognized Ding Lin at a glance. He had only seen this face once, but he remembered it vividly. In this heavenly palace, the only one he liked was the Seven Fairy Maidens. However, on the day of parting, he saw the Seven Fairy Maidens protecting and caring for Ding Lin. For no reason, he disliked Ding Lin.

"It's you. Have you become an immortal after all this time?" The stone monkey looked at Ding Lin's golden armor, paused in his peach-eating, and then took another big bite as if no one else was around. "Judging from your attire, are you the new manager I heard was coming to take over? The Queen Mother of Peach Garden has already assigned this to me, Old Sun. So it seems you're now working under me. For Xiao Qi's sake, I'll take care of you."

“Great Sage,” Ding Lin said in a deep voice, his gaze falling on the peach in the stone monkey’s hand, “do you know that these peaches are tributes from the Imperial Garden? Without the Emperor’s permission, they cannot be picked and used without authorization, otherwise it would be a violation of the Heavenly Laws.”

"Crack! Click!"

The stone monkey ate the peaches, and the fake smile on his face disappeared.

"Heavenly Laws?" The stone monkey sneered, looking at Ding Lin with disgust. "I've broken more than one or two Heavenly Laws. What are you to dare meddle in my business? I'll eat this peach if I want to. What are you going to do about it?"

“The Great Sage is of high rank and enjoys great wealth, while I, an official of low rank and small position, am naturally unable to supervise him. However, it is my duty, and I cannot remain inactive. I can only record this and present it to the Emperor for review in the future,” Ding Lin stated his position.

"puff!"

The stone monkey finished the peach in a few bites, and a fierce look suddenly appeared on his face. But the next moment, his eyes rolled, and he seemed to have thought of something. In the end, he just rolled the peach pit in his mouth and spat it at Ding Lin's feet. Then he glanced at Ding Lin contemptuously, turned around, and disappeared from the spot in a streak of light.

Ding Lin looked up, and the sunlight filtering through the leaves became even more dazzling. He squinted and activated his spiritual senses.

The stone monkey made no attempt to conceal its presence and almost instantly darted out of the Peach Garden.

All around remained silent, and the land spirits still hadn't shown themselves.

At this very moment, this 9,000-year-old peach orchard, with its 3,600 peach trees, fell into Ding Lin's view without any precautions or attention.

Ding Lin did not hesitate. The long time he had spent measuring the garden was not only to familiarize himself with it, but also to scout out the situation and look for an opportunity. Now was the perfect time to seize the opportunity. He leaped up and darted among the branches, pushing his speed to the limit.

In the sunlight, not a trace is visible.

After a few breaths, Ding Lin reappeared, his face unchanged, but his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

Ding Lin flashed away from the peach orchard and headed for the cold pool.

In the garden, the leaves on the trees swayed gently, seemingly unchanged, and the medium-sized fruits, which had become more prominent due to the lack of large fruits, were still there.

But scattered in the corner, countless ripe little fruits were picked by Ding Lin and stored in his storage space.

Since we're going to take them, let's take the purple-veined peaches that are nine thousand years old. As for the size of the fruit, it's just a difference in taste and the amount of spiritual energy. The smaller fruit won't be any less effective.

……

Ding Lin stood quietly by the cold pool, gazing at the water absentmindedly, forcing himself not to turn back and look at the nine-thousand-year-old peach forest again.

Another moment passed.

Xin Jia came over. He had already arranged for the heavenly soldiers. After bowing to Ding Lin, he began to report.

Ding Lin simply nodded slightly, but in reality, he didn't hear a single word.

(End of this chapter)